


A Tale of New Horizons: Shoot for the Stars

by Sleepyblue_Kitzune



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Tales of Xillia
Genre: "Shoot for the Stars" Will Eventually Become Tifa's Catch Phrase, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Characters Can Carry More Than Six Pokemon On Hand In Here, Crack, Domestic Vincent Valentine, F/M, Gen, Humor, Light Exploration, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Mystery, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, Rating May Change, Semi-Crackish, Tags May Change, Various Cameo Appearances from Other Characters, World Hopping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29379771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepyblue_Kitzune/pseuds/Sleepyblue_Kitzune
Summary: A collection of interconnected one-shots and short stories. These will be Tifa-centric in some way, shape, or form, but it will feature a bunch of other characters too. Also, none of these events will be in chronological order unless I state otherwise within the chapter's notes or put "Part ???" in the chapter title.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart & Everyone, Tifa Lockhart & Rufus Shinra, Tifa Lockhart & Vincent Valentine
Kudos: 1





	1. The Color of White

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know I have other fics I should be working on, but this pesky idea wouldn't leave me alone until I did something with it. So here we are with a brand new fic, fresh out of the oven and ready to be served (or read in this case) if you will lol. Hope you guys enjoy it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa and her team get stuck in a blizzard and they wait it out in a cave...that is until Vincent and his team show up, unannounced.

White. The color of purity. Or as some people— the artists— would say, a color with no hue on the opposite end of the gray spectrum. It wasn’t a color most would say is their favorite for whatever reasons they had, personal or otherwise. But she didn’t have one. She just thought the color looked pretty. That’s all.

And what did she associate the color of white with the most? 

Vanilla Ice Cream. Wedding Dresses. Snow. Blizzards. 

Those last two may sound odd in comparison to the cold dessert she just listed, or the special kind of a gown you would only wear once in your life, but in the case of what was going on right now, it was relevant to the topic.

**_WHIRRRRRLL!_ **

A pair of vermilion red eyes that were about as warm as the glowing trees from Fennmont, belonging to that of a young girl with long black hair, turned to the roar of the wind that was blowing harshly outside. They blinked when a blur of white flew in— 

**_SPLAT!_ **

—and broke apart the second it hit the ground.

It was a snowball.

_Well it used to be one,_ Tifa stared at the pile of melted slush for a long moment or two before she closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

‘ _I guess I should count myself lucky there. That snowball would’ve hurt if it had made contact._ ’

The young girl opened her eyes.

‘ _Let’s just hope that no more comes flying in._ ’ 

She leaned back some and stared at the view in front of her, while ignoring the low cries and footsteps she could hear somewhere behind her.

**_WHIRRRRRLL!_ **

She had no idea why but there was just something so calming about watching a mass of flickering white spots fall from the gray blue sky. All in the form of ice crystals. They were the type of crystals she had a fascination with, one that she had unknowingly developed during her time here. It was strange. At least from when she looked back at it months ago. But now...she didn’t mind it. She had grown used to her new ice crystal obsession. 

It was one out of the few links that connected her to her old memories and kept them alive.

The weather. The snowstorms...all of it made her feel some things. As crazy as it sounded, this blizzard not only soothed her and her soul, but it also reminded her of home.

Not her new home— the one she shared with her legal guardian— but her old home. Nibelheim.

It was a place she hadn't thought about in two years.

“Slash!”

“Rah!”

“Cor!”

“Haka!”

“Growl!”

“Ab!”

Tifa turned around and looked towards the back of the cave to spot an icy blue and white pangolin with navy blue eyes and shards of ice on her back.

She was running in a circle around the campfire, despite how dangerous it was for her to be close to it, and chasing five others: a medium-sized grayish-white and red-black rabbit with red eyes and a yellow headband-shaped marking on her forehead, a small navy blue-gray crow with red eyes and matted black feathers on his body, a light and dark gray reptile with red eyes and yellow scales on his body, a small orange and beige canine with gray eyes and black stripes on his body, and a large dark bluish-black beast with red eyes, white fur, and a crescent moon-shaped horn on the side of her head.

_Tag huh? Well...it's productive enough to pass the time, I suppose. If anything, this should at least keep them from being completely bored,_ Tifa thought with a smile as she watched her team of pokemon play.

“Sand-Sandslash!”

“Ra-Raboot!”

“Corvi-Cor!”

“Ha-Kamo-o!”

“Growl-Growlithe!”

“Ab-Absol!”

The young seventeen year old shook her head in laughter when the five dodged Alolan Sandslash’s claws before turning back around to face the front of the cave, her attention already being snagged by the different cries of the monsters and wild pokemon roaming around in the snow outside.

‘ _The Mon Highlands sure do look beautiful from up here._ ’

Tifa got up from her spot on the ground and walked over to the cave's entrance, taking care not to trip over anything on the way there as she stopped right in front of the opening. _Guess I'll stay right here and keep a close watch out for anyone suspicious coming this way,_ she said before turning around to lean her back against the wall. 

‘ _That is...if they do somehow get past this nasty blizzard here._ ’

Sighing, the young girl folded her arms over her chest and took a look down below at the sight of all the monsters and pokemon going about their business calmly. Why, they weren’t even bothered by the weather one bit from what she noticed.

‘ _These monsters sure are resilient around here in this neck of the woods. I still can't believe how different they are compared to the ones I saw back on Gaia. Plus, everything here feels just so...magical.’_

Sure, it was strange being on a new planet and all. That was something she will not deny. But despite the differences between the two worlds, she enjoyed this one very much. In fact, she loved every bit of it and the people who live here.

Rieze Maxia had a lot to offer. Tifa already knew this. But still…she couldn't wait to explore it. Explore the rest of the cities, towns, and villages. 

She wasn't going to do it alone, however.

No, she was going to explore all of Rieze Maxia with the others by her side one day.

Properly.

‘ _At least the pokemon here are still the same no matter what world you come from._ ’

It was something that she noticed the minute she came to. She woke up near the entrance of Kanbalar City with Miss Claudia and her new friend, Vincent, by her side and two people— a tall woman in revealing blue clothing with long, light pink hair and glasses over her pink eyes and a tall, bulky man in yellow-black and white clothing with a long brown beard and a black hat over his bald head— standing over them, surrounded from all sides by a small group of guards and four pokemon— a Milotic, Delphox, Mamoswine, and Pangoro— that she presumed to be theirs. 

Sure, it had put her on guard and freaked Cloud’s Mom out. But Vincent— thankfully enough— was able to talk the group down into not attacking them, and once Miss Claudia calmed down, she backed him up and gave her side of the story. Then she encouraged her to do the same, which she did.

Eventually.

Despite listening to their plight, they still took them in to see the king of this world. Once they met him along with his prime minster, one of the prime minister's friends named Jude, and the rest of his bodyguards called the Chimeriad, the two groups talked for a couple of hours and came to an agreement of sorts by the end of the impromptu meeting. 

The agreement stated that as long as she and her friends didn’t have any ill intentions for this world, or cause any trouble for the folks who live in this city, then they can stay for as long as they want. They can choose to live out the rest of their lives here in Rieze Maxia or the next world, Elympios, if they so desire, which was fine with them.

And here they are...two years later, still living in Kanbalar. 

She lived with Miss Claudia, who offered to take her in when it came time to talk about living arrangements, and was Vincent’s next door neighbor— to which she screamed in excitement when she found that out.

‘ _It’s too bad that even two years later, he’s still being his reclusive self—_ ’

**_CRUNCH!_ **

The sound of footsteps crunching in the snow snapped Tifa out of her thoughts, and then she heard...

“ ** _Tifa._** ”

It was coming from outside. Near this cave actually.

“ ** _Tifa, where are you?_** ” came a familiar low but deep masculine voice.

Dropping her arms from her chest, the seventeen year old poked her head out and flinched on the inside when the wind started ruffling her hair. “In here, Vincent!” she shouted over the blizzard before pulling her head back inside the cave.

It didn’t take long for her neighbor to find her and within the next five minutes or so, Vincent stood at the mouth of the cave with three of his pokemon— a Zoroark, Ninetales, and Silvally— by his side.

Tifa almost wanted to laugh at the amount of snow sitting on top of the man’s head, but she didn’t.

“I didn’t know there was a cave hidden over in this spot,” Vincent spoke in greeting as his red eyes surveyed the little hideout for a moment before moving over to the girl, and he raised a high brow at her disheveled hair and clothes. “Still...it’s good to see that you’ve managed to find some kind of a shelter to take cover in.”

_I probably look like a fucking mess right now. I just know it,_ Tifa sighed then scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Yeah...I found this place earlier when I was out exploring the area with my team. I just didn’t expect a blizzard to come rolling in and put a stop to that,” she explained, then caught her pokemon walking up to them out of the corner of her eye, before turning around to fully face Vincent. “We didn’t get much training done today either. It sucks, but it is what it is.”

Vincent shrugged. “There’s always next time.”

Tifa looked down. “Right. Next time...” she repeated in a mumble before gazing back up at the man, “I know the cold doesn’t bother you like it does for some other people, but is there a reason why you came out here in this weather looking for me?”

“Ms. Strife wanted you back home two hours ago, so she knocked on my door and asked me to go look for you.”

“Oh...” Tifa looked away as her cheeks started to bloom pink, “I didn’t realize I had been out that long. Must’ve lost track of time, I guess.”

“Is that so?” Vincent’s eyes flashed and his shoulders sagged just a bit when he dipped his chin into the collar of his red scarf. “Well then, wear a watch or bring your phone with you the next time you feel the need to venture out this far in The Mon Highlands. That will put less stress on your guardian’s shoulders. And mine too for the matter,” he pivoted on one heel and began walking away with his pokemon following behind him. “Now come, let’s head back to Kanbalar together.”

Tifa blinked when he abruptly left the cave then looked back at her pokemon who stared back at her in silent confusion. “Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with him either, guys,” she gave them a shrug before taking out a black and red rectangular device that was about the size of an iPad Mini and shaped like a pokeball— from the top only. “Return!” 

In a flash, a beam of red light hit Corvisquire, Hakamo-o, and Growlithe, making them disappear into the device. 

Tifa pocketed the device before turning to her remaining three pokemon, “Let’s go catch up with Vincent and his pokemon, okay?”

Alolan Sandslash, Raboot, and Absol let out various cries of agreement in response.

**xXXXXXXXXx**

By the time Tifa and her pokemon left the cave and reached Vincent’s side, who was standing near the cliff’s edge and looking down into the abyss with his pokemon right next to him, they became surprised at the lack of snow falling from the sky. 

A sky that was now clear and blue. 

“When did the blizzard go away? It couldn’t have left that quickly.”

Vincent turned to her. “I took care of it,” he simply said.

“O...kay,” she answered with furrowed brows. “And how did you accomplish that?”

He made a gesture to Ninetales. “Sunny Day. Right before we entered the cave.”

Tifa looked down at the Fox Pokemon and reached out to her with a smile. “Smart,” she said, petting the fire type, who let out a soft coo in response, for a few seconds before dropping her hand away. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that earlier when my pokemon and I ran all the way over here.”

“Other priorities can take over the one you originally thought of before sometimes. There’s no shame in admitting that, Tifa.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that now.”

Vincent nodded and moved away from the cliff’s edge, already making his way down the mountain in long strides. “Let us be on our way then,” he said to her over his shoulder while letting his pokemon walk in front of him and take the lead. “I’m sure Ms. Strife is eagerly waiting for our return. And with a pot of warm soup for us to eat no doubt.”

Tifa smiled. “Okay!” she hummed as she and her pokemon shared a wide grin before running after the four.


	2. Matters of the Heart and Mind Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa finds herself in a mysterious place where she meets two great spirits, one of which who strikes some kind of familiarity in her, and talks to them about some things...until the past comes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on out, we will be heading into crackish and semi-crackish territory with...well, a lot of stuff, I want to say. So yes, things will start to get a little weird. But not all the time, though. It will vary from chapter to chapter. Just thought I'd let you guys know before you dive more into this story. 
> 
> And now without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

A gust of wind blows over a vast plain filled with wild flowers of all colors, making them swing from side to side in front of the boulders, bringing along a group of fireflies who drifted amongst the star-lit sky from above. A sky that was black in color and had a full moon in place, which illuminated the area in a field of blues and purples below.

The sight of it all, including the river located at the bottom of the waterfall cliff, sent a thrill through her. Made her heart beat fiercely in her chest.

Vermilion red eyes— that were blown wide open in awe— surveyed the area from top to bottom. Every little thing she could dream of...it was all there. The glowing field and fireflies. The shiny stars and bioluminescent water. All of that was within reach.

It was there for her to explore. To touch. And from what she could see— without even moving from her spot on top of the cliff— the valley was massive, teeming with who knows what. 

_Actually...what is this place? I’ve never come across a valley such as this before,_ Tifa mused as she took a tiny step closer towards the edge and carefully sat on the balls of her feet, leaning forward some to take a quick peek.

**_FWOOOOOOOO!_ **

A shiver ran down her spine at the sudden sound, along with the feeling of danger that accompanied it.

_That’s strange,_ Tifa said as she stood up and began looking around the area with narrowed eyes. _I see no other life-forms in sight...and yet...I feel as though something, or someone, is watching me. But who?_

“ ** _...It is your mindscape, little one._** ”

Startled by the silky deep voice that came out of nowhere, Tifa quickly backed away, “What the—” only to trip over her own two feet. “Oh shiiit!” and with a cry of surprise, the young woman fell back.

“ ** _You didn’t have to scare her, you know?_** ” came another deep voice.

“ ** _.........._** ” a pair of gold eyes from some place unknown watched the dark haired woman tumble over the cliff then narrowed in irritation at her screaming, which echoed throughout the valley and into the abyss below.

**_SPLASH!_ **

“ ** _Let’s just go down there and see if she’s alright. Lady Minerva will have our heads if anything happens to her. You don’t want Lady Maxwell to get on our case about that, do you?_** ”

The invisible owner of the gold eyes turned and spotted a pair of ruby red ones blink in existence next to him. “ ** _No,_** ” he replied before turning back to the cliff, “ ** _You have a point._** ”

“ ** _She should still be in the water...if she hasn’t gotten out already._** ”

“ ** _Hm. We’ll see._** ”

The two said nothing further as they vanished from their spots.

**xXXXXXXXXx**

It was the rush of cold water that washed over her face and the sight of something swimming by that woke her up. She shook her shock away then took a quick look at her surroundings and discovered that she was in a lake of some kind, making a slow descent towards the bottom. 

_At least I landed in here instead of out there on land,_ Tifa shut her eyes closed when a giant fish— that was lit up like a night light— swam past her, nearly blinding her in the process with its luminescence. _Huh? I guess there was some life here after all,_ she mused, blinking her eyes open, waiting for the haze to go away as she proceeded to swim upward.

When her vision cleared up, she spotted more than just fishes in water. There were a bunch of sea creatures and water pokemon of all shapes and sizes too, swimming around her without a care in the world.

How was this possible?

“Float...”

‘ _Hmm?_ ’

A Floatzel swam up to her just as she turned her head and rubbed its cheek against hers affectionately, making her squeak out a laugh.

“Hey, that tickles—” 

“Float, Zel?” the Sea Weasel Pokemon jumped back when the human coughed and covered her mouth with her hands. It wasn’t until she began to turn blue in the face that prompted the pokemon into the action. “Floatzel!” the water type grabbed the woman in its arms and quickly swam up to the surface.

**xXXXXXXXXx**

“There she is.”

The two invisible figures saw Tifa pop out of the water, coughing her lungs out in the arms of a pokemon as it swam towards an empty patch of land. They exchanged a glance.

“I don’t think she has realized it yet.”

“It appears to be that way.”

The two turned back around, just in time to see the water type place the woman on the grass then wave at her good-bye. A look of gratitude flashed across her face and with a smile, she waved back at the pokemon right before it flicked its tail in her direction with a fanged grin. 

After that, the weasel-like pokemon turned around, let out a cry, and dove back into the water with a small **_splash_**.

“Let’s go greet her now.”

“Do we have to?”

“Yes. You already scared the poor girl into falling off the cliff. Might as well apologize for that.”

“...Fine.”

**xXXXXXXXXx**

Tifa lowered her hand once the pokemon had left then flopped on her back with a sigh and shut her eyes closed.

She laid there for a bit, cold and wet under the beaming rays of the moonlight, trying her absolute best to remain still— and not shiver— so that she could dry off. But with the grass being wet too, it looks as though that was not going to happen.

‘ _What a bummer._ ’

She wished there was some other way she could get dry. Without resorting to using magic or moving from this spot to go look for some wood to build a campfire out of. 

‘ _Wait._ ’

On second thought, was there any firewood in the near vicinity for her to even find? Or pick up?

_If only my fire types were here right now,_ she groaned, turning on her side, and buried her face in the crook of her arm.

“That could be arranged. If your desire is strong and your mind is sound, think real hard about them and they will appear. It is that simple.”

Tifa froze.

Not only was the deep voice back, but she could feel a phantom-like touch of what appeared to be a clawed hand on the crown of her head, holding both it and her in place.

The sensation felt weirdly familiar to her. It was a touch she’d encountered before. But for some reason, she could not recall when or where it had happened, and that left her deeply confused. 

How odd. To feel safe in the presence of this stranger when she should be feeling the exact opposite right now. Even her well-honed fighter instincts weren't screaming at her to get away from this mysterious voice and fight him off. 

She wondered if there was something wrong with her.

“There is nothing wrong with you, little one. You’re fine. And safe,” he answered. “Even if I was a stranger, which I am not, I wouldn’t harm you. It would be incredibly foolish of me if I even dare breathe that thought into existence.”

‘ _What the_ _—_ ’ Tifa stomped out the urge to flinch as soon as it reared its head.

“Don't move and, if you can help it, don't scream.”

_Yeah well...it's not like I can, buddy,_ Tifa huffed inwardly, ignoring that last part of his remark, as she cracked her eyes halfway open and looked up.

Steely gold clashed with wary vermilion red.

“..........”

“Good. You heed the directions of a being superior to you very well, unlike most humans I've seen,” the invisible figure said, his voice dripping with approval, as he stared down at the dark haired woman. ‘ _Baring a certain group and their friends and allies, of course. They’re an exception._ ’

Tifa ignored that remark too. “Who are you?” she demanded in a low voice, her tone perfectly calm despite the situation.

The invisible figure blinked when an image of the Rieze Maxian King, the Chimeriad Leader, the Prime Minister, and the Origin Head Researcher in Spyrite technology flashed in his mind for a brief second before it disappeared. 

_Interesting. She’s taking a page out of their book by acting calm, cool, and collected,_ he noted with a touch of amusement. _Considering the amount of times I saw her hang out with those four, she was bound to pick up any of their quirks sooner or later._

“Well?”

Instead of answering her, he let the veil of magic fall away. His appearance can do the talking for him. 

“Huh?” the space in front of her rippled, as a burst of mana was released, and right before her very eyes, a figure appeared in place, kneeling on the ground with his free arm resting atop of one bent knee.

Long silver hair that spilled over his back like a waterfall, partially covering his dark face and gold eyes. Large ears on top of his head. Silver and black body with blade-like protrusions extending out of his forearms. She knew this man—no, spirit.

“You... I’ve heard of you before. From Jude and the others.”

He still said nothing, and just kept his emotionless gaze on her.

“You’re one of three Primordial Great Spirits... The Great Spirit of Time,” she continued, ignoring the prickle of his claws when they twitched in response to his title. “Chronos, right?”

He closed eyes for a moment, “You have heard correctly,” then opened them back up. “Tifa Lockhart.”

Shocked into silence, Tifa didn’t even realize the state of her clothing until the great spirit took his clawed hand off her head and stood up.

“You can move now,” he said, while moving away from her.

‘ _Huh?_ ’ blinking back to reality, she looked down at herself and saw that she was no longer wet. Even her hair felt less heavy now. ‘ _No way!_ ’ Tifa struggled to keep her shock from slipping back in as she sat up and raised her head to gaze up at Chronos. “You dried me off, didn’t you?” at his nod of confirmation, she then asked, “How did you do that?”

“He reversed the flow of time on you.”

Chronos didn’t turn or bat an eye at his ruby red-eyed companion who appeared right next to him and removed the veil of magic off his body as well.

_Whoa,_ Tifa stared jaw-slacked at the giant vulpine creature standing in front of her. He had yellow and white fur, a reverse orange mohawk on the top of his furry head, sky blue-purple paws that were equipped with sharp claws, multiple green and sky blue tails that bled dark blue at the tips, and wore a bell around his neck.

“Hello.”

Tifa shook her head and got up from the ground immediately. “You’re a great spirit, too?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes. I am Verius, the Great Spirit of Heart,” the spirit introduced himself before flashing her a smile. “And you, little Tifa, have a lot of heart from what I can tell.”

Chronos became amused when the young woman blinked then turned her head away from them, to hide the pink tint in her cheeks no doubt, as well as the bashful smile that briefly appeared on her lips before it disappeared.

‘ _A strange human this one is._ ’

Once her blush died down, Tifa turned back to the two; however, she specifically looked in Chronos’ direction and asked, “Why did you do that?” at his confused head tilt, she quickly added, “Dry me off, I mean.”

Fully aware of Verius giving him the side-look, he withheld the urge to sigh and answered the woman’s question.

“Consider it my...apology.”

It took Tifa a quick second or three to figure out what he meant by that. “Oh sure. For scaring me off the cliff, you mean?” she deadpanned.

Chronos didn’t even bother giving her a response to that.

Tifa shook her head and laughed. “It’s okay. I forgive you,” she remarked softly, surprising the two spirits with her kindness, and turned to look around the beautiful area once more. “So...you said this was my mind, right?”

Finally glad at the change of topic, he nodded his head. “Yes. It is your mindscape. I’m sure by now you have realized what happened to you.”

Tifa furrowed her brows. “Umm, well...” she mumbled and began to pace in front of them, “I was meditating in the training room. To cool down from the spar I had with Jude earlier.” 

The two great spirits glanced at each other before turning their attention back onto the mumbling woman.

“...Then he left after that, saying he was going back to the Inn to go shower and change clothes.”

A sweat-drop appeared on the side of Verius’ head.

“Hey Tifa...” 

“...I think he mentioned something about having a meeting with Rowen, Gaius, and the Chimeriad too—”

“Tifa!” it was Chronos who spoke up this time.

“...And I think I fell asleep after that,” the young woman finally looked up, “Yes?” and blinked at the two, giving them her full attention now. “Sorry about that, you two, I didn’t hear you,” she explained with a sheepish smile.

_Clearly,_ he gave her a deadpanned look. “You’re pacing right now. And no, you didn’t fall asleep.”

“So I’m still awake?”

“Yes. You’re still meditating back out there in the real world,” he said in explanation. “You’re just in a very _deep_ meditative state right now. Have been for the last...three hours or so, is my best guess.”

Blinking again, Tifa looked down and noticed that she was indeed pacing, almost to the point of wearing a hole into the ground. The grass was already beyond saving, as it laid withered and dead beneath her armored boots. _Oops,_ she stopped in her tracks immediately.

“You didn’t notice?” asked Verius.

“I... No,” Tifa looked up and saw the two staring at her curiously. “Sorry. That’s a bad habit of mine I picked up from my...” she trailed off and stared at her feet instead.

An awkward silence rolled in.

Again, Chronos and Verius exchanged a glance.

“Your what?” the latter encouraged softly as he turned his gaze back onto the dark haired woman.

“My...friend,”

Chronos narrowed his eyes. “You don’t sound so confident about that.”

“I-It’s complicated,” Tifa mumbled in a nervous voice. “My relationship with him is a bit complicated. He’s my friend. Was my friend, actually. And I—” she paused for a moment before lowering her head, “—haven’t seen him in over a decade. I don’t know what I feel about him anymore. Especially after what happened in Nibelheim. What should I say to my future fi—my friend if I run into him again?”

Chronos arched a brow at the young woman’s little slip-up while Verius murmured “I see” and walked over to her side to comfort her.

Although she didn’t say it completely, he knew exactly what Tifa was talking about when she mentioned the word _complicated_. 

A childhood friend and a mate all rolled into one. 

Oh joy.

‘ _This reeks of an arranged marriage. And yet, the girl didn’t seem too bothered about_ **_that part_ ** _from what I am getting at. So what is it? What is the real problem with this whole situation here?_ ’ he closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

He wasn’t going to admit it out loud, but it was actually bothering him to see her so torn up about what happened in the past. And he wanted to sigh, or just groan at the overall ridiculousness of the situation. 

As sad as it is, humans are always making things more than what they seem when it comes to the matters of the heart and relationships. He knew this well. Seen it happen plenty of times throughout the millennia, when he watched these mortals from afar. And despite letting go of his disdain for humans, even going as far as to befriend a good chunk of them, he still didn’t understand them.

Well, not completely. There was still a lot he did not know about them.

Honestly, he was just not cut out for this heart-to-heart or mushy stuff. That was more of Verius’ area of expertise. But then again, he and Verius did sort of ‘chain’ themselves to this human in particular. 

Why... Just why did they do it again?

‘ _Oh yes. Now I remember,_ ’ he thought, as the image of a woman in elaborate gold and blue armor with blonde hair, pale green eyes, and wore a headdress on her forehead and a woman with mid-thigh length blonde hair, red-violet eyes, and a single green-tipped bang that was swept to the left side of her face briefly flashed through his mind before going away. ‘ _Lady Minerva mentioned something about the three being_ **_needed_ ** _for the future while Lady Maxwell wanted them to be saved for obvious reasons._ ’

“Chronos?”

The Great Spirit of Time snapped out of his thoughts to see Tifa and Verius staring intently at him.

“What?”

The Great Spirit of Heart tilted his head. “What are you thinking about, old friend?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head then turned his gaze onto Tifa. “This ningen mate of yours... What does he look like?”

Tifa’s brows pinched at his odd choice of words until she realized that he and the other great spirits probably didn’t use the same terms like she and the rest of humanity did— or just didn’t use them that often. 

Nonetheless, she answered his question.

“Tall and lanky. Short blond hair. Cold azure blue eyes. Wears a lot of expensive black and white clothing. Both casual and...business-like, I wanna say.”

Chronos stared at the human when she paused and closed her eyes for a moment. ‘ _What is she do—_ ’ before he could even finish that thought, a golden locket popped into existence. ‘ _Heh, nevermind. She finally figured it out,_ ’ he smiled when she opened her eyes and caught the locket, then stared at it fondly for a few seconds, before holding the necklace out to him.

“Here. There’s a few pictures inside.”

The great spirit reached out and took it in his hands. He paid no mind to Verius, who returned to his side and took a look over his shoulder, as he held the locket up to his face and popped it open.

Inside, there were two children— a six year old girl in a white dress with shoulder length black hair and vermilion red eyes and an eleven year old boy in a black turtleneck shirt and white shorts with shaggy, neck length blond hair and azure blue eyes— sitting on the floor in some kind of girly-looking bedroom ( _which he assumed was Tifa’s room_ ), surrounded by a bunch toys and two pokemon: a taller than average Scorbunny and a Shinx. 

The girl was looking at whoever was taking the picture with a bright, toothy smile on her face, hugging the boy, who looked away to hide the pout that was on his face, close to her side.

‘ _So this is Tifa and her mate, huh?_ ’ 

Chronos gazed at the picture intently, finding some sort of amusement in the preteen’s expression. The boy looked as if he wanted to push the girl away but didn’t want to deal with the consequences that would come with it, so he probably sucked it up and just let the girl stay there. 

‘ _They do look...adorable, I guess._ ’

He quickly moved onto the next picture before he could even think about what he’d just choked out. 

In this one, Tifa and the boy were about a year older from the looks of it. They were both dressed in short sleeved shirts— with Tifa wearing a white one and the boy wearing a black one— and black pants. The two were sitting next to each on a piano bench, playing a duet of some kind while Scorbunny, Shinx, and two other pokemon— a Jangmo-o and a Houndour— were taking a nap over in the far corner of Tifa’s room.

‘ _They’re both smiling now,_ ’ he noted the look of happiness on their faces; however, he raised a brow when he spotted the boy’s right arm thrown casually over Tifa’s shoulder. ‘ _Oh now he doesn’t mind her being close. That is...some progress there._ ’

Chronos moved onto the next picture and he could feel his eyebrows climb higher above his head, as well as hear Verius breathe out a quiet “Aww, how cute” behind him.

There were two pictures. 

On the left, it showed the blond boy giving Tifa— who were both a year older than they were in the previous picture— a piggyback ride. He had on a high collar black shirt with a designer jacket over it and white dress pants while Tifa had on a long sleeve black V-neck shirt that covered the top part of her dark blue skort. The two were outside with their pokemon— Raboot, Jangmo-o, Alolan Sandshrew ( _which was Tifa’s newest pokemon_ ), Luxio, Houndour, and Sobble ( _which was the boy’s newest pokemon_ )— and standing in front of a water tower.

“The boy’s grinning while she’s laughing,” came Verius’ remark.

And he agreed with him, spying the look on the blond kid’s face. There was happiness in his eyes.

‘ _The progress continues._ ’

Chronos finally took a look at the last picture, the one on the right, and spotted the two cuddled up on the carpet floor of Tifa’s bedroom with a large Pikachu and Eevee blanket thrown over them. Fast asleep, from the looks of it, with all of their pokemon surrounding them. And they were asleep too.

Honestly, the sight of it all was too much for him and his presumably cold heart.

‘ _That’s enough for one day,_ ’ he closed the locket with a sigh and gave it back to Tifa. “What’s his name?”

The young woman magicked her locket away before turning her attention over to him.

“Rufus.”

If he or Verius was surprised by the name, they didn’t show it.

“Ah,” was all the former said.

“Rufus?” the latter repeated. “You mean the president’s son of that electric power company from that old planet of yours? The Rufus Shinra?”

Tifa slowly turned to the Great Spirit of Heart, her brows raised high in confusion. “Yes. The very same one,” she answered carefully, and then stared at him for a long moment, wondering how in the world did he— and Chronos, for that matter— know about Rufus or what world she originally came from. “How do you know all about that?”

“We get around a lot. Travel to other worlds undetected in our spare time whenever the mood hits. Gaia is just one of the many on that list,” Chronos smoothly said, dragging the young woman’s attention over to him. “And besides...” he gave her a light smirk, “Who do you think saved you and your friends from death that day when all of you arrived here in Kanbalar three years ago? Who do you think brought you all here to planet Rieze Maxia?”

Verius shook his head at him, feeling sorry for the poor woman who had a priceless look on her face. And judging from the way she was swaying on her feet, he knew she was well on her way to passing out now.

“We can have this discussion about your mate after you wake up in the real world.”

“Umm...”

At her hesitation, he changed his mind. “Or maybe another day. Perhaps tomorrow afternoon or Saturday evening. Is that alright with you, Tifa?”

“Yes. That’s fine,” Tifa replied halfheartedly, still in slight shock from the news that the Great Spirit of Time just dumped on her.

Chronos turned away from them. “You can count me out on this one. I don’t do heart-to-heart talks so well,” he confessed before throwing a quick look over his shoulder at Tifa. “Until we meet again, little one.”

By the time her shock completely wore off and she looked up, the long haired spirit was long gone.

“I will see you eventually, Tifa.”

Tifa turned to the giant vulpine spirit and smiled at him. “Yeah,” she nodded her head.

Verius smiled back and disappeared, his body evaporating in a blue flash of flickering mana light particles.

Finally alone now, Tifa flopped back onto the grass with a long sigh and closed her eyes.

“Right. Time to wake up in the real world now.”

* * *

A vision of black greeted her eyes when she opened them.

At first, she was confused, wondering if she fell some time during her meditation, until the black thing moved back and revealed itself to be a black shirt being held in the mouth of a fox. 

A familiar creamy colored fox with red eyes and nine fluffy tails.

“Ninetales, get over here and let Tifa get up from the couch.”

The young woman sat up once the Fox Pokemon moved away, letting out a muffled whine afterwards. However, he calmed the minute she scratched him behind his ears, and he gave her a quick nuzzle in thanks before making his way over to his trainer who was sitting at the kitchen table.

‘ _Oh._ ’ 

One quick look around told her that she was back at home, in the living room, and not inside of the gym. _I wonder,_ she narrowed her eyes before turning them over to Vincent, just as he was putting the shirt on the table next to a sewing kit. “Hey Vincent, do you know who brought me back home from the gym?” she asked, staring at the dark haired man who was dressed in a tank top and some black pants and socks.

Vincent, after petting his pokemon— who plopped down on the floor near his feet, looked up and said, “It was Wingul.”

Tifa became surprised by this. “Really?” she uttered.

Vincent nodded his head. “He was on his way to pick up something in the room that Jude accidentally left behind until he spotted you in there. And since it was getting close to closing time, he brought you back here just as I was getting ready to leave,” he explained to her.

Tifa let out an “Oh” and leaned back into the couch. “Thank you for telling me,” she looked up and asked her next question. “Where’s Claudia at?”

Vincent took out a needle and thread from the kit. “Gone to a meeting with Wingul and the others. She insisted that I stay here and watch over you until she gets back home,” he said.

_I guess he must’ve been in a hurry then. I’ll have to thank Wingul the next time I see him. Maybe even tell him I’m close to mastering that fire arte he wanted me to practice on,_ Tifa smiled at the thought of making her sensei— well, one of her sensei, proud before looking back over to Vincent, who was now in the process of sewing the black shirt up. “Is that your shirt?”

With looking up from his work, Vincent said, “It is. Ninetales and Silvally got a hold of it earlier and started playing tug-of-war with it.”

“Until it ripped, I assume?”

“Yes.”

Tifa winced. “Yikes. It is a big hole?”

“More than one hole, actually.”

“That sucks.”

“It’s nothing that I can’t fix. But it will take me a minute to sew the sleeves, the front, and the back of the shirt up.”

“Well. Good luck then. I’m gonna head upstairs to my room and watch TV.”

Vincent said nothing aside from waving in her direction, letting her know that he heard her.

Tifa left the man to his sewing as she got up from the couch and stretched, popping everything back in place with a few cracks here and there. ‘ _There we go!_ ’ she breathed out and straightened her posture, relieved about the fact that she was no longer feeling stiff in the knees or her back. 

Once her joints calmed down, Tifa walked out of the living room area, past the kitchen, and slowly made her way up the stairs.

**xXXXXXXXXx**

“Nine...”

Vincent looked up, catching the tail end of Tifa’s boot disappearing up the staircase with his eyes, before he shook his head and went back to sewing the shirt he had in his hands. 

“There is something different about her now. Different than what it was yesterday when I spoke to her on the phone.”

“Nine-Niiine, Tales.”

“So you feel it too, Ninetales?”

“Nine.”

“Oh good. I thought it was just me.”

Ninetales cracked his eyes open and looked at his trainer. He watched the long dark haired man for a moment or two in silence before he let out a yawn and turned his head away.

The last thing he heard before he went to dreamland was the sound of his trainer humming something, a catchy tune of sorts, under his breath.


	3. Traveling Incognito...? Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While battling against another trainer in a pokemon tournament, a disguised Tifa catches the attention of Rufus Shinra and his Turks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be a long chapter at first, but then I decided to cut some of the stuff I had in here originally and save it for later. So here you go, a chapter where Rufus finally makes his debut for real (after being mentioned and getting a cameo shot in the last chapter lol).

The chanting of the crowd rang loud and clear all around her, until a bark of surprise broke through the excitement. What followed next was the sudden **_splash_ **of someone who fell into the water.

‘ _Well that was unexpected,_ ’ she snorted in her mind. 

But still...

When she caught the shared look of surprise on everyone’s faces in the bleachers, after they jumped up with a “ ** _Oh my god_** ” from their seats, the young woman wanted to laugh.

It was too much. Just...way too much. 

And to make it worse, the people in the audience looked as though they wanted to either laugh or cry out from secondhand embarrassment. So, it took all of her willpower not to grin— or flash a smile that would undoubtedly show just how amused she is right now— at the sight as she turned her eyes away from the speechless crowd, fixed the black baseball cap she had sitting on her now-shoulder length silver hair, and concentrated on the battle that was still taking place in front of her.

A battle on an ice field, to be exact.

_It’s a good thing I trained with Jude and his pokemon on how to battle on different terrain fields a few months ago,_ Tifa said then smiled when her sensei's pokemon— a taller than average Lucario with spiky fur on top of her head, green eyes, and wore an emerald green scarf tied around her neck— landed near the edge of the ice. _Otherwise...this would have been a disaster._

“Ahh! Arcanine!” her opponent— a tall young man in a dark blue business suit with curly black hair and blue eyes— cried out in alarm. “Are you alright, boy?” he asked, as his cheeks turned a nice shade of pink.

“Nice one, girl!” Tifa cheered with a fist pump.

“Rarara!” Lucario snickered when the Legendary Pokemon popped his head out of the water with a grumble, looking about as miserable as a fire type can be when introduced to something called _water_ and about his situation. 

After all, the poor pooch did trip over a loose piece of ice on the field ten seconds ago.

“Arcanine, are you—”

“Ar!” Arcanine cut his chosen trainer off with a bark then nodded his head in reassurance, letting the human know that he was fine. 

Sure, he was a little embarrassed. But the anger he felt inside eclipsed all of that as he gazed up at the 4 foot, 11 inch jackal, who stopped snickering at the sight of his glare and got into a fighting stance.

The young man smiled at Arcanine. “O-Oh good,” he said before turning his attention over to Tifa and Lucario, and with a glare, he ordered, “Don’t let her make fun of you, Arcanine! Use Extreme Speed to get out of the water and then switch to Flare Blitz!”

A fierce glint appeared in the shisa’s eyes as a greenish-yellow aura surrounded his body, and with a howl, he leapt out of the water towards Lucario.

“Dodge it with Extreme Speed!” Tifa commanded, after she spotted the aura surrounding Arcanine’s body turn a reddish-orange color.

Lucario nodded her head— as her body started to glow a greenish-yellow color too— and zipped to the side, letting the fire type fly past her glowing form and crash into a pillar somewhere behind her with a cry of pain and frustration.

“You’re fine, Arcanine. Keep going!”

Another howl later and the glowing red-orange Arcanine flew out of the smoke cloud towards the descending Aura Pokemon. 

“Continue with Extreme Speed! Shake him off your tail!” said Tifa.

“I don’t think so! Throw in your own Extreme Speed, Arcanine. Don’t let Lucario get away!”

**xXXXXXXXXx**

From behind the window panel of the VIP room, several pairs of eyes rounded at the sight of the greenish-yellow and red-orange blur trading blows with the second greenish-yellow blur, knocking pieces of the ice off, here and there, as they zipped from one end of the ice battlefield to another. 

_Like a child who’s consumed too much sugar and is now on one hell of a sugar rush,_ a spiky crimson haired man, with red tattoos underneath his turquoise eyes, in a disheveled black suit remarked. 

“ ** _Oooooooh!_** ” the audience outside shouted.

_Huh,_ his brows rose when Lucario performed a front flip over Arcanine then appeared behind him in a flash with her paws lit up yellow and blue. _Ooh! That’s gotta hurt,_ he whistled when the Aura Pokemon threw the Thunder Punch, tossing the Legendary Pokemon into a nearby pillar that was already cracked.

“ ** _Ar!_** ” Arcanine fell on his back with a cry when the pillar shattered to pieces around him, and as he slid across the ice, Lucario chased after him. 

Before he can do anything, though, the fighting/steel type pokemon dashed towards him with Extreme Speed. She nicked the fire type pokemon in the side with her Ice Punch, right as he crashed into a pillar, and disappeared—

**_BOOM!_ **

—only to reappear in front of the silver haired woman a millisecond later.

“Wait, what just happened?” the crimson haired man heard one of his co-workers— a short woman in a suit just like him with neck length platinum blonde hair and brown eyes— blurt out when the cloud of smoke covered half of the battlefield. “Did Lucario miss and hit the pillar instead or something?”

“It looks that way. But I could be wrong about that,” his second co-worker and partner— a tall bald man in a clean suit with sunglasses over his hazel eyes— spoke up.

_Guess we’re about to find out now. But I still think the jackal did it. There’s no way Lucario missed that straight shot,_ he said with narrowed eyes, as the smoke started to go away. ‘ _Well, well..._ ’ he chuckled in his mind when the last of the smoke went away and revealed the state of Arcanine, who seemed to be stuck in a giant block of ice that had merged with the pillar behind him, ‘ _Looks like I was correct in my assumption,_ ’ he continued, smirking at the sight. ‘ _Score one for Reno of the Turks, baby!_ ’

“It appears that Lucario has successfully landed the hit. And froze Arcanine on top of that, too,” his boss— a tall man in a suit with mid-back length black hair, brown eyes, and a tilak on his forehead— spoke up in a soft deep voice. “It takes an extreme amount of skill and a lot of luck to pull off a freeze just like that. As for whoever that Lucario belongs to... I would say that they have trained her very well. Enough to listen to another trainer’s orders and completely obey them, without a fuss even.”

Reno side-eyed the director, who sat next to him, and blinked. “But?” he inquired, catching onto the older man’s invisible pause in his voice.

The leader of the Turks flicked his eyes over to him before moving them back over to see Lucario jump into the air and toss a bigger-than-normal Dragon Pulse at Arcanine. 

**_BOOM!_ **

“But I wonder... Is that a testament of her skills to using and mastering a move that doesn’t match up with her typing? Or, can we chalk it all up to luck?” he replied over the explosion, watching the ice break and Arcanine fly into the air—

**_AAAAAAAWROOO!_ **

—only to crash on top of the flat surface of a nearby broken pillar seconds later. 

“Uhh...” Reno turned his attention back onto the battlefield below and took immediate notice of Arcanine’s knocked out state, “I don’t know, Tseng. It could be—”

“If you ask me, I would say it’s a little bit of both.”

Reno, Tseng, and the other two Turks looked to their right to see their president sitting back in his chair, with his right foot propped up on his left knee.

“Not that that’s a bad thing, of course,” he continued, flicking a stray piece of silver blond hair out of his azure blue eyes, and stared at the silver haired woman on the field intently when the referee declared her the winner of the final match. “Still...” a smirk slowly appeared on his handsome features as his cold eyes flashed with some unidentifiable emotion for a split second before it disappeared, “It is unusual to see a Lucario with a moveset this diverse and move about as fast as a Deoxys. Almost. I find that a bit intriguing,” he said and looked at his Turks for a brief moment, “Don’t you?” before turning his attention back over to the match outside.

“Yes, Mister President,” Tseng nodded, as his eyes strayed over to the window as well. “I see what you mean now,” he smiled in agreement, watching the black haired businessman pat Arcanine on the head.

Without taking his eyes off the woman, Rufus asked, “Reno. Elena. Rude. What are your thoughts regarding the young woman’s match with that businessman down there?”

Reno smirked as he threw his arms over and behind his head, sat back in his seat, and closed his eyes. “Flashy and stylish. But that doesn’t make her a performer, coordinator, or anything. Heck! The amount of skill she showed as a trainer, with Lucario delivering the beat down on that poor doggo so easily, tells us exactly how powerful they both are,” he said nonchalantly. “And their style of battling... It’s actually kind of similar to the way my pokemon fight, now that I think about it.”

Elena narrowed her eyes at the strange tone she picked up in his voice towards the end, and from what she saw out of the corner of her eye, the others picked it up, too. “And how do you know that, Reno?” she asked.

The red-headed Turk waved his co-worker’s suspicion away. “Just a guess, Lena. No need to get your panties in a twist just because I complimented another chick and her borrowed pokemon for the tournament now,” he replied, smirking at the blonde woman’s angry “Hey” as he dodged her hand, all without getting up from his chair or opening his eyes even.

Elena killed the urge to set the man on figurative fire with her glare as she slowly turned back to Rufus, “Aside from Reno’s assessment, which I agree with, she was completely in sync with that Lucario. And the latter in turn followed her orders well. Sometimes without her even saying anything, other than giving the pokemon a look or a nod. I haven’t seen such a thing like that between a trainer and a pokemon that’s not theirs before. Ever,” she said professionally.

“They appear to have a strong bond already. And I suspect that they have either met before and trained together to get up to that level of loyalty, love, companionship, and trust or bonded on the spot after meeting each other at the beginning of the tournament,” Rude spoke up, adding upon what Elena had just said.

_Love and companionship, huh_ , Rufus uttered, taking in their answers with an air of approval as he removed his foot off from his knee and sat up straight. “Right,” he said with a nod, while watching the tournament committee welcome the young woman, Lucario, and her other two borrowed pokemon— a taller than average Swampert and a shiny Flygon— up onto the stage so that they can give her the trophy and the prizes that came along with it. ‘ _I wonder—_ ’

**_KNOCK! KNOCK!_ **

“It’s open!” he told the person waiting outside of the room, while getting up from his chair.

Tseng along with Reno, who opened his eyes, Rude, and Elena stood up from their seats as well.

“Mr. President Shinra,” a semi-tall portly man in a dark blue suit, with dark brown hair and green-blue eyes, opened the door and walked into the room. 

“President Rufus,” Rufus corrected the man as he turned to face him.

The dark haired man stopped in his tracks, “I beg your pardon?” and blinked.

“Please, call me President Rufus. I insist.”

The portly man gulped at the look Rufus shot him with. “Why of course, President Rufus!” he said with a smile, then gave the Turks a slight nod in acknowledgement before turning his attention back onto their president. “How are you and your companions this evening? Was the room to your liking? And would like anything to eat or drink right now?”

The four Turks exchanged a glance with the blond and shook their heads no.

“I am doing well, thank you for asking,” Rufus answered with a smile. “And the room was...adequate,” he added before turning around to face Tseng and the others. “My Turks and I are fine at the moment. So we’ll pass on the refreshments, Mr. Robinson.”

The portly man named Robinson smiled and nodded his head. “That’s great to hear!” he looked between the five of them before continuing, “Now then, I assume you all want to watch the closing ceremony from outside. In a less crowded spot not too far away from the bleachers, perhaps?”

Rufus turned to him with a nod. “You assumed correctly,” he said, his voice sounding amused, and made a gesture towards the door. “Lead the way.”

The smile on Robinson's lips grew wider at the blond’s words. “Oh yes! Yes, of course,” he turned around and walked over to the door. “It’s about seven yards away from this building actually,” he told them as he opened it and stepped outside of the room.

Rufus and the Turks followed him out of the room and down the hall about a few seconds later.

“By the way, Mr. Robinson...” 

Without pausing from his walk, as the blond president strolled up right next to him, Robinson said, “Yes?” 

“That woman... Who is she? Can you tell me a little bit about her?”

He looked at the young man with a raised brow. “Curious?”

Rufus shrugged his shoulders a bit, “You could say that,” he said slowly. “Her face...sort of reminds me of someone who I met a long time ago.”

Robinson blinked at the strange tone that entered the blond’s voice towards the end. “Ah, well...” he began with a cough, deciding to ignore the foreign president’s strange behavior, “That young lass’ name is Ruby.” 

Rufus along with the Turks raised an eyebrow at that.

“Now that isn’t her real name, of course. But it’s the nickname she gave us when she started coming here on Planet Earth to compete in our tournaments. And for the past two years, she has...”

Rufus stayed quiet as he walked and listened to the portly man talk about “Ruby”, passing the many unopened doors along the way, while ignoring the looks he knew the Turks were giving him right about now.

Elena, who was walking by Tseng’s side, leaned in and whispered, “Do you know what all of this is about, sir?”

Tseng pursed his lips and shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Elena,” he whispered back, while Rude, who was walking behind them, said something inaudible underneath his breath.

Reno, who was bringing up the rear, stared past the backs of his colleagues and fixed his gaze onto the president of Shinra Electric Power Company walking—no, strutting by the chairman’s side. _Like a king listening to his subject’s speech,_ he snorted in his head. 

“Hmm. Interesting,” Rufus murmured, flicking a stray piece of hair out of his eyes, as he continued to listen to what Robinson was saying to him.

‘ _What are you up to now, boss man?_ _You’re normally not the type to be interested in a woman for obvious reasons, unlike most men in the whole wide universe. So what is it? What could you want with that Ruby chick?_ ’

Then all of sudden...

_Huh,_ Reno blinked as an image of a young woman with long black hair and red eyes flashed through his mind. ‘ _Wait a fucking minute..._ ’ he narrowed his eyes in thought when the image went away, ‘ _Out of all the chicks I’ve met before, why did_ **_this one_ ** _in particular just—_ ’

Then without warning, an image of Ruby, with her silver colored hair and red eyes, popped up for a split second before it, too, disappeared. And the entirety of it all left him speechless.

‘ _Oh. That’s why._ ’

His brain, right then and there, exploded.


	4. Traveling Incognito...? Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Tifa meets back up with Jude, she comes across a famous celebrity who is with him.

It was late in the evening by the time the ceremony had ended and by the time everyone in the committee team got done cleaning up. Even the people in the audience went home once the committee folks started shutting things down and shoo-ing people out of the stadium. 

Well, aside from the ones who came with the trainers that participated in the tournament— such as their family, friends, teachers, and co-workers. They stuck around to congratulate the trainers and to have a chat with some of the members from the committee. Mainly the ones who were on break right now.

“Here you go, Kimiko,” came a feminine voice from somewhere to her right.

_Hmm,_ Tifa looked up and blinked when her eyes landed on a trainer, who was about two inches shorter than she was, with neck length brown hair and sky blue designer sunglasses over her amber-brown eyes. She was handing her borrowed team— a Gallade, an Aggron, and a shiny Typhlosion— back to a woman with waist length black hair and sky blue eyes. 

‘ _It looks like I wasn’t the only one who borrowed pokemon from another person after all._ ’

Tifa waved at the young brown haired woman, “Hey Katie!” and smiled. “Thank you for the great match you gave me earlier in the tenth round. I enjoyed it!”

The trainer named Katie looked up and spotted her. “So did I, Tifa. Thank you!” she said, waving back at the older woman, then went right back to talking to her friend named Kimiko.

Tifa dropped her hand and turned around, taking care to adjust the trophy in her arms, while looking inside the thing.

‘ _Oh good,_ ’ she sighed, feeling more than a little relieved to discover that everything was still in there, and held the heavy cup close to her chest. ‘ _It felt nice to win this whole thing with Jude-sensei’s pokemon. I’m gonna have to treat them to something nice another day for a job well done,_ ’ she said with a smile, as her thoughts turned to the three pokemon that battled in this tournament for her.

Sure, they might have been offered the choice to use a rental team of pokemon at the front desk, but she along with a couple of other trainers passed on it. Instead, they signed up with a team they borrowed from someone else. 

“Lu-Ra?”

And that someone else had to be present with them at the front desk so that the receptionist could scan their pokéhandler and approve it for the trainers participating in the tournament.

“Lu-Ra!”

Tifa blinked and looked down to see Lucario staring up at her curiously, with her arms crossed over her chest.

And as for Swampert and Shiny Flygon...

“Swamp?”

“Fly?”

The young woman shook her head. “It’s nothing, you guys. I was just thinking about a few things,” she said and gave them a reassuring wink. “Now then...” she began with a smile, “How about we go look for your trainer?”

The dual ground types threw their hands/claws up in the air with a cheer while the fighting/steel type nodded happily in response.

“You don’t need to do that, Tifa. I’m right here.”

The group of four turned around to see Jude and a middle-aged man around 5’9 in height, with dark brown hair and a pair of silver designer sunglasses over his brown eyes, walking towards them. He wore a navy blue blazer and an embroidered purple silk tie over a white dress shirt and navy blue slacks, which were cuffed around the ankles, partially covering the black and white sneakers he had on his feet.

‘ _No way!_ ’

The pokemon smiled and ran over to their trainer with a happy cry while Tifa stared at the new guy in complete shock.

“You’re... You’re one of the Avengers, aren’t you?”

The dark brown haired man smiled when he and Jude, who laughed when his pokemon tackled him into a group hug, stopped in front of the shocked woman. “Speechless, are we?” he teased with a small chuckle, “And yeah, I’m a member of Earth’s Mightiest Superhero Gang. The name’s—”

Tifa quickly shook herself free from her shock. “Tony Stark. The man behind the Iron Man suit,” she interrupted with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name’s Tifa Lockhart. But everywhere else I visit that’s not Rieze Maxia, I go by the name Ruby.”

Tony chuckled again. “Ah! A code name or nickname, I see,” he said amusedly, “Well then, Ruby, it’s nice to meet you, too. That was a great battle back there. Actually, all of your matches were great! Seriously, you got great talent for battling and commanding a team that’s not yours,” he added, complimenting the young woman. “You really had me at the edge of my seat throughout the whole tournament.”

Tifa looked at him, surprised. “Wait. You watched my matches?” she asked, her voice sounding a bit breathless.

Tony grinned. “Sure did! I was sitting up in the bleachers next to Jude and my niece’s friend, Kimiko, in the middle row,” he explained, motioning to the two people behind her. “She let Katie borrow her pokemon for the tournament.”

Tifa looked back to see that Katie and Kimiko were still there; however, they were now having a chat with one of the committee members. “Oh,” she uttered in a low voice, staring at the black haired woman named Kimiko then at Katie— who was apparently Tony Stark’s niece— for a moment, before turning around to face Tony. “I see. So Katie’s your niece, huh?”

“Yep! I also have a nephew named Matt, who is Katie’s older brother. But that’s besides the point.”

“Huh. Didn’t know that.”

There was a sly look on Tony’s face as he said, “To be frank, not a lot of people do.”

Jude, who took out his pokéhandler earlier and just got finished returning his three pokemon, placed it back into his pocket and turned to Tony. “Aren’t you going to go over there and talk to them?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“Katie and Kimiko.”

Tony’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Oh yeah! I did mention earlier that I was going to do that,” he mumbled that last part to himself before shoving his hands into his pockets. Then he looked between Jude and Tifa and said, “I’m gonna go hang out with them until they kick us out of here, if you don’t mind.”

“We don’t. Go ahead, Tony,” Tifa and Jude said in unison.

Tony nodded, thanking them with a smile, and walked past them. “Hey you two!” he called out to the girls, making the two along with the committee member look up. “Whatcha talking about?”

**_DING!_ **

Tifa looked over in Jude’s direction and saw him pull out his phone. He looked at it with furrowed brows, and read what was on the screen. “Something wrong?” she asked when he started sighing something inaudible under his breath. 

The spiky haired man lifted a finger, telling her to hold on a moment, and texted something before putting his GHS back into his pocket.

At the look on his face, Tifa frowned. “What’s up, sensei?”

“Wingul misplaced a watch of his and now he can’t find it,” Jude raised his head, “I’m heading back to the hotel to go help him look for it. You coming?”

Tifa nodded. “Yeah. I think I might grab something to eat near there, too.”

“That’s fine,” Jude said before he turned around and started walking away.

Tifa turned halfway and waved at Tony and the others. “See you some other time, Mr. Stark! It was nice meeting you!” she said, watching the man wave back at her then turn his attention back onto the girls and the committee member, before putting her hand down. 

“Come on, Tifa!” came Jude’s voice.

“Okay, I’m coming. Don’t worry, Jude-sensei!” she pivoted on one heel and ran after her spiky haired teacher.


End file.
